On Tuesday (Feb. 5), a month to the day before Mardi Gras, the Rex organization assembled the scribes of the realm to a room deep in the French Quarter to disclose secrets of the krewe’s annual celebration.

Well, not all the secrets. The names of the king and queen and the members of the court were not revealed, but krewe officials, speaking at the organization’s annual media luncheon in the Rex Room at Antoine’s Restaurant, did give an idea of what to expect when Rex unleashes its pageantry. These nuggets included the parade’s theme, the trinkets riders will be throwing and the performers for the parade and that night’s ball.

The theme of this year’s 28-float procession is “Visions of the Sun,” which is designed to show the role that the sun has played in cultures throughout history, ranging from Mesopotamia to Egypt to North America. Louis XIV, France’s so-called Sun King, will make an appearance, as will the Hawaiian god Maui.

“If the sun is not shining in the sky (on Mardi Gras), it will be shining in the streets,” said Henri Schindler, the longtime designer of floats for Rex and the krewes of Hermes, Endymion and Babylon.

This year’s Rex parade will be the last for which Kern Studios Inc. will build the floats. According to a statement, the krewe and Kern Studios decided mutually after more than six decades to end the contract.

“It was a private business thing,” said Barry Kern, Kern Studios’ president and CEO, in an interview.

“Kern Studios will remain a close friend of the Rex organization,” krewe official James Reiss said in the statement.

Schindler said the float-building duties for next year’s Rex parade will be assumed by Royal Artists, which already constructs floats for the krewes of Proteus, Chaos and Krewe d’Etat.

The night before the parade, Rex’s Lundi Gras arrival will return to Spanish Plaza. Renovations to the riverfront promenade last year had forced the ceremonies to move upriver, to a spot near the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

On Fat Tuesday, there will be changes in the musicians who will perform in the parade and at the ball.

Graduates of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts will play on His Majesty’s Bandwagon, a perennial float, which, Reiss said, has been equipped with a better sound system.

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will perform for the formally dressed revelers that night at the Rex ball, which will be held in the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.

To provide a preview of what ballgoers will hear, two LPO members – Paul Marcus on string bass and Hannah Yim, a violinist and assistant concertmaster – serenaded the lunchers with “If Ever I Cease to Love,” the Rex organization’s official song. At the ball, it is played, over and over, as monarchs, dukes and maids circle the floor.

A regular feature of each media luncheon is the display of new trinkets. This year’s offerings include necklaces bearing small doubloons, beer koozies and Frisbees. Some riders will be tossing glass beads.

It isn’t all fun and games. After Hurricane Katrina, the Rex organization used its motto, Pro Bono Publico (For the Public Good) as the name of its new foundation, bolstered by members’ contributions, to award grants to support public education as the region rebuilt.

Giving since 2007 has topped $7.5 million, J. Storey Charbonnet, a foundation board member, said at the luncheon. This is the fourth straight year in which it has awarded $1 million in grants, he said.

In addition to bestowing money on schools, Charbonnet said the foundation will underwrite long-term initiatives, including those that foster teacher retention.